Nearly half of Britain’s millionaires are looking to move offshore thanks to
concerns over the Government’s economic policies and their suffering finances

A third of millionaires surveyed by Skandia have seen their finances shrink in the last 12 months, with a quarter predicting their wealth would fall in the next 12 months, according to Skandia's Millionaire Monitor report.

Less than half now have confidence in the Government’s economic policies, down from just over half in June last year. A better standard of living overseas, coupled with the rising cost of living and increasing taxation in the UK are the key factors that are prompting thoughts of a better life abroad, with even the British weather being a reason to leave for 21 per cent of those surveyed.

Graham Bentley, Skandia UK’s head of investment strategy, said: “Economic policies that attack the UK’s higher earners echo those of the Labour government of the late 1970s, and are fuelling their discontent about living in Britain.

“Unless this Government is completely comfortable with a 'wealth-drain' from the UK it should show courage: abolish the 50p spite-tax, incentivise savings by maintaining pension tax-relief and removing irrational barriers between different tax-efficient products like pensions and ISAs; scrap the unnecessarily punitive lifetime allowance on pensions, and provide greater access to pension savings in order to fund vital needs-based requirements such as long-term care, thus reducing reliance on the state.

“The largely symbolic attacks on higher earners have little economic benefit, and simply serve to persuade these otherwise important contributors to Treasury coffers to depart for friendlier tax-regimes. Taking 40 per cent of a great deal (of money) is better than 50 per cent of nothing."